Federal prosecutors arrested Greg Lui, a California computer company owner, on 1 October and charged him with conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act, outbound smuggling and conspiring to commit money laundering. The case concerns more than $300 million in export-controlled servers allegedly sent to China through Singapore and Malaysia, Courthouse News Service reported.
Key points
- Prosecutors allege that Lui and others routed servers containing restricted Nvidia chips through Singapore and Malaysia between 2023 and 2024.
- Authorities say false paperwork presented those countries, rather than China, as the equipment’s destination.
- One purchase order covered 27 servers containing Nvidia H100 GPUs for approximately $7.6 million, according to prosecutors.
- The Justice Department says Lui could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted on every charge.
Earthmade Computer and the alleged shipments
Lui, 38, operated Earthmade Computer Inc. in the City of Industry, east of downtown Los Angeles. Prosecutors say he bought high-end servers containing Nvidia graphics processing units from US manufacturers and represented that they were intended for customers in countries where shipment would not require a US Commerce Department export licence.
Between 2023 and 2024, prosecutors allege, Lui and others sent the servers first to Singapore and Malaysia, then forwarded them to buyers in China. Their account rests on the distinction between the destination given to the manufacturers and the place where the equipment was allegedly delivered. The authorities say Lui and his co-conspirators supplied false documents that misrepresented that final destination, Bloomberg reported.
The Justice Department said the initial shipments to Singapore and Malaysia did not require licences for purchases of advanced AI chips from US companies. Prosecutors allege that Lui arranged the sales while knowing that the chips inside the servers were subject to US export restrictions. The allegation is therefore about the movement of controlled equipment to China, rather than the mere use of Singapore or Malaysia as shipping destinations.
The H100 order and export-control charges
In one purchase order identified by prosecutors, Lui obtained 27 servers containing Nvidia H100 GPUs from an unidentified US manufacturer for approximately $7.6 million. Prosecutors put the value of the export-controlled servers covered by the alleged scheme at more than $300 million. The charges concern alleged export-control violations, smuggling and conspiracy to launder money.
Many of Nvidia’s most advanced chips, including the H100, have been off limits to Chinese buyers under US export controls. Some less advanced chips can be sent to China with an export licence. That distinction matters to sellers as well as buyers: under the account set out by prosecutors, the US manufacturers received documents naming destinations for which the shipments did not require the licences that delivery to China would have required.
Lui faces three counts: conspiracy to commit money laundering, outbound smuggling and conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. The FBI joined federal prosecutors and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security in announcing the charges. The Justice Department says a conviction on all counts could bring a prison term of more than 20 years.
Prosecutors seek to detain Lui without bail
Prosecutors asked a court to hold Lui without bail, arguing that he presented a “serious risk” of flight if released, Bloomberg reported. That request concerns his custody while the criminal case proceeds. It is separate from the charges, which remain allegations for prosecutors to prove.
The Los Angeles prosecution follows another case involving the same transit countries. In 2025, federal prosecutors charged two Chinese nationals living in Southern California with sending tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips to China without the required Commerce Department licence. They too were accused of moving the equipment through Malaysia and Singapore, Courthouse News Service reported.
In March 2026, the authorities charged a Super Micro Computer co-founder over the alleged unlawful diversion of billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips to China. He pleaded not guilty.
